


Leonora and the Books

by DuaghterofStories



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: 14 years later, Caleo kids, Gen, Reading HoO&TKC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23296642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuaghterofStories/pseuds/DuaghterofStories
Summary: Leo & Calypso didn’t come back and live at Brooklyn House as followers of Wadjet. They have 3 kids, Leonora, the main character, Leon, and Lea. Calypso wrote PJatO, HoO, MCatGoA and, TKC. Apollo was found by Leo and is married to Jaz as a follower of Sekhmet as well. They have 2 kids, Denyun and Senya. Carter and Zia got married as well as Sadie and Walt. They both have kids. Calypso also wrote ToA but made sure to tell them it was her only fake story.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~14 years ago Leo Valdez died and came back. Now he, Calypso, his kids and some friends are going back int time to read HoO, and TKC.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Jasmine "Jaz" Anderson & Apollo (Percy Jackson), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. How it All Began

Leonora sighed today was so sucky. First Mom told her she had to wear something similar to the style 13 years ago and get to the Great room at 15:00. She frowned as she entered and found the Andersons playing Rock Band 12, her father's invention. Nico, Mother and Father were there, along with Lea and Leon. Leonora sighed and flicked her hand, bringing up a holo.  
She looked up her favorite fanfic, a Harry Potter/Percy Jackson crossover. She sighed. She wished she could meet the character in the book. She longed to solve the mystery of cold fusion with Annabeth(She was this close), to go surfing with Percy. She wanted to test her theory on Jason’s flying. She wished she could come home and call Hazel or Frank and chat about her day. Her only connection was Nico, who had found them a few years back.  
“Hey Leonora,” said Calypso.  
“Hey Mom.” Leonora said with a sigh. She looked at all of them jamming out to the song(Last Friday Night). She shook her head. The Andersons really were fans of the classics.  
She walked over and got in line for singing. Finally it was her turn. Then, there was a flash of light.  
She didn’t notice the flash. Nor did anyone else. She finally selected a nice song from 14 years ago. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish.  
“White shirt now red, my bloody nose  
Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes  
Creepin' around like no one knows  
Think you're so criminal  
Bruises on both my knees for you  
Don't say thank you or please.”  
Calypso was the first to notice.  
CHB/Olympus P.O.V.  
Annabeth was confused. This strange group of people had appeared just after Percy’s wish for Calypso to be freed. This girl was singing a depressing song. The blond girl with a strange resemblance to the singer noticed and hissed over “She’s in her emo phase.”  
“I do what I want when I'm wanting to  
My soul? So cynical  
So you're a tough guy  
Like it really rough guy  
Just can't get enough guy  
Chest always so puffed guy  
I'm that bad type  
Make your mama sad type  
Make your girlfriend mad tight  
Might seduce your dad type  
I'm the bad guy, duh  
I'm the bad guy.”  
Slowly the other people noticed. One girl, who had a resemblance to Annabeth other then the linen clothes, combat boots, and streak in her hair, it was electric orange. Cocked her head and chuckled.  
“I like it when you take control  
Even if you know that you don't  
Own me, I'll let you play the role  
I'll be your animal  
My mommy likes to sing along with me  
But she won't sing this song  
If she reads all the lyrics  
She'll pity the men I know.”

“Hey, kids, we made it.” said the Latino next to the young kids.  
All of them turn except for the singer. She waves but keeps singing happily.  
“So you're a tough guy  
Like it really rough guy  
Just can't get enough guy  
Chest always so puffed guy  
I'm that bad type  
Make your mama sad type  
Make your girlfriend mad tight  
Might seduce your dad type  
I'm the bad guy, duh  
I'm the bad guy, duh.”  
Everyone waited until she finished on the line:  
“I'm a bad guy  
I'm, I'm a bad guy  
Bad guy, bad guy  
I'm a bad guy.”  
She finished and smiled over at them. “Hey. Sorry about the choice in music. I know it was 14 years ago, but I love it!”  
“14 years ago?”  
“Yah. Meh. I still love it.”  
“It’s 2010.”  
“No, I come from 2024.”  
“Honey,” said the blonde woman next to the Latino. “Honey, we time traveled back to the time just after the Battle of Manhattan.”  
“Oh! Why?”  
“To read HoO.”  
“Oh!”  
“And TKC.”  
“Oh…”  
“What’s wrong with our story?” asked the blonde with the stripe.  
“Nothing…”  
The boy next to her laughed and said: “I mean who are we? We just stopped the Apocalypse. Why, that’s nothing compared to them flying into the air with dirt.”  
The latino rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah. Well it was surprisingly hard.”  
The girl-who-was-singing started crying. “Stop f-f-f-ight-ight-in-g.”  
“Libras.” muttered the boy who looked like Apollo.  
One girl just rolled her eyes before snapping, bringing up a weird holograph. She swiped a few times before saying:  
“Friend: I ship Percabeth more than you.  
Me: Oh, really?  
Friend: Yep, I Fed-Ex it.  
Me: I airplane it.  
Friend: I yacht it.  
Me: *walks up to stage and takes a mic* I Argo II it. You have been beat. *drops mic*”  
The girl stopped sobbing.  
The girl said another one:  
“Percy: call my mom and tell her to meet us at the Empire State Building.  
Grover: *nods nervously* okay… but what if she says no?... your mom can be kind of… difficult  
Percy: are you scared of my mother?  
Leo: we all are”  
“Hey.” They all whipped around and saw that the girl-who-was-singing was calling out to a mysterious girl. The two talked for a minute. Finally she turned. “Everyone, this is Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, but don’t call her that or she will kill you two times over. My name is Leonora Valdez.”  
“My name is Nico diAngelo.”  
“Leo Valdez.”  
“Sadie Stone.”  
“Apollo Anderson.”  
“Walt Stone.”  
“Calypso Valdez.”  
“Carter Kane.”  
“Zia Kane.”  
“Lea and Leon Valdez.”  
“Mark Kane.”  
“Yin-ly Stone.”  
“Jasmine “Jaz” Anderson. Noone has called me Jasmine. Well, no one alive has.”  
“Denyun Anderson.”  
“Senya Anderson.”  
“And we’re-”  
“We know.”  
“Wait! Apollo!?!”  
“Hey sis.”  
“You have a last name?”  
“Duh. I’m married to Jaz.”  
“Anyways, I will tell you all one more headcanon that will make you crack up.  
Octavion: *gets down on one knee*  
Reyna: Oh my Gods, it's finally happening  
Octavion: *falls over*  
Reyna: The poison is kicking in  
Hilarius right?”  
Reyna was cracking up.  
“Anyway, onto the books-”  
“Why did you get married Apollo? Isn’t your whole thing about how you're constantly hitting on girls?”  
Leonora turned in slo-mo to the Hunters. “Hi Huntresses.”  
“Actually, We’re the Hunters.”  
“But Hunters is the term for a male, bicthes.” They noticed something. Little sparkes were popping up on her body. Leo gestured toward her and muttered something. Apollo leaped forward and knocked down the huntresses and CHBers while Calypso rose the thrones. Then they dropped to the ground. And it was just in time. A burst of pure heat leapt from her body. Once it was gone thay all rose.  
“You have to work on controlling your Supernova.” scolded Calypso.  
“Supernova?” asked a Hunter, Phoebe.  
Leonora hissed at her.  
Calypso patted her and answered. “She is the only one in the family with it. She can make fire 10 times hotter than the hottest lightning. She can, of course, cool it down. Nothing and no one, god, mortal, demigod, or anything is immune.”  
“Why does she hate us?” asked Thalia.  
“Well, she doesn’t hate you in particular. Just the idea of the Hunters.”  
“Actually, I think you’re lit, Thalia. It’s the others that need help. We can discuss this at break. But I will discuss it with all of you. Artemis included. We will start on The Lost Hero, than do TSN-”  
“Why won’t you tell us the name?”  
“Spoilers. Than MOA, THH, BOO.”


	2. Jason I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They start and things happen.

A/N All characters who are in the past and “future” have the past kids with a (p) after their name.  
“Who wants to start?” asked Calypso.  
Thalia hesitantly raised her hand and Leonora passed it over quietly.  
Jason I  
‘Roman numerals.’ thought Nico(p). ‘And Jason?’  
 **EVEN BEFORE HE GOT ELECTROCUTED, Jason was having a rotten day.**  
They all gasped. Apollo and Leonora just yawned and Leo with the rest of the future gang was watching with an amused smile.  
 **He woke in the backseat of a school bus, not sure where he was, holding hands with a girl he didn‘t know.**  
“How is that bad,” asked Conner.  
Leonora just smiled and gestured for Thalia to keep reading  
 **That wasn‘t necessarily the rotten part. The girl was cute, but he couldn‘t figure out who she was or what he was doing there.**  
“Oh… That is bad.” murmured Hera.  
Leonora heard and laughed. “Yeah Hera, you have sooo much concern for them.”  
 **He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think.**  
 **A few dozen kids sprawled in the seats in front of him, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around his age ... fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, that was scary. He didn‘t know his own age.**  
“That’s what concerns you?” muttered Phoebe.  
Leonora hissed and Phoebe felt the air around her start to heat up.  
Leo batted at Leonora’s hand and the heat stopped.  
 **The bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Jason was pretty sure he didn‘t live in the desert. He tried to think back ... the last thing he remembered …**  
“Was nothing.” joked Apollo.  
 **The girl squeezed his hand. “Jason, you okay”**  
“Awww,” squealed Aphrodite. “She cares about him.”  
“Duh,” said Calypso.  
Annabeth noticed a tear rolling down Reyna’s face before she wiped it away and looked on with fake happiness.  
 **She wore faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides.**  
“Why would she do that!!!” asked Aphrodite, horrified.  
“Not everything revolves around beauty! She doesn’t want people to notice her. NO CHANGING HER IN ANY WAY!!!”  
“B-b-b-ut.”  
“NO!!!”  
“Why?”  
“She doesn’t want it. She likes herself. She wants to be herself, not who people want her to be.”  
“Does everyone feel like this?”  
A couple of kids lookup. “I like it, but I like myself to.” muttered an Aphrodite girl.  
Aphrodite covered her mouth and frowned. “Sorry. I’ll ask from now on.”  
 **She wore no makeup like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn‘t work. She was seriously pretty. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope—brown, blue, and green.**  
“Hot dam,” muttered Travis.  
Leonora rolled her eyes. “You got no chance, Travis.”  
Jason let go of her hand. “Um, I don‘t.”  
 **In the front of the bus, a teacher shouted, “All right, cupcakes, listen up!”**  
“Hedge…”  
 **The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he‘d eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would‘ve looked pretty scary if he hadn‘t been five feet zero.**  
“Sounds right.”  
“Totes.”  
 **When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called, “Stand up, Coach Hedge!”**  
Laughter.  
 **“I heard that!” The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Jason, and his scowl deepened.**  
 **A jolt went down Jason‘s spine. He was sure the coach knew he didn‘t belong there.**  
“You don’t.”  
 **He was going to call Jason out, demand to know what he was doing on the bus—and Jason wouldn‘t have a clue what to say.**  
“Yeah right.”  
 **But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. “We‘ll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner.**  
 **Don‘t lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way.”**  
 **He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer.**  
“Did-did he ever use that?”  
Leo opened his mouth than closed it, obviously thinking better of it.  
 **Jason looked at the girl next to him. “Can he talk to us that way?”**  
 **She shrugged. “Always does. This is the Wilderness School. Where kids are the animals.’”**  
 **She said it like it was a joke they‘d shared before.**  
 **“This is some kind of mistake,”**  
“It wasn’t a mistake…” muttered Leo and he shivered. This confused everyone, until they realized it wasn’t from the cold...  
 **Jason said. “I‘m not supposed to be here.”**  
“You're telling me!” Leo laughed sharply.  
 **The boy in front of him turned and laughed. “Yeah, right, Jason. We‘ve all been framed! I didn‘t run away six times.**  
The CHB’ers frowned. “Why did he?” asked Percy  
 **Piper didn‘t steal a BMW.”**  
Hermes and his kids let out a whistle.  
“Dang.” said Conner.  
“That’s been my lifelong dream.” said Travis.  
Katie looked at him. “That is a horrible lifelong dream!”  
 **The girl blushed. “I didn‘t steal that car, Leo!”**  
Hermes snorted.  
“Wait,” said Percy. “That’s you!?!”  
“Duh.”  
 **“Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You ‘talked’ the dealer into lending it to you?”**  
Travis turned to his dad.  
“No.”  
“Dammit.”  
Katie stared at him.  
“Um…”  
Thalia rolled her eyes and continued.  
 **He raised his eyebrows at Jason like, Can you believe her?**  
 **Leo looked like a Latino Santa‘s elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects.**  
“No, yes, yes,yes/no, yes, and meh.”  
 **His long, nimble fingers wouldn‘t stop moving—drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.**  
“All natural. But Leonora on the other hand can eat all the sugar in the world and be fine. Hyper, but otherwise fine.”  
 **“Anyway,” Leo said, “I hope you‘ve got your worksheet, ‘cause I used mine for spit wads days ago.**  
“You have a life Leo.” snapped Annabeth.  
“Really? Not then. I had pretty much given up.”  
“Why?”  
A tear trickled down his face and Leonora gestured for Thalia to continue.  
 **Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?”**  
“Again?” asked Annabeth, worried, against her better will for the kid, it was obvious he had gone through some stuff.  
“I got revenge.”  
“How?”  
“Well, I programed his bed to replicate sex sounds so everyone thought he had banged. Every night.”  
 **“I don‘t know you,” Jason said.**  
 **Leo gave him a crocodile grin. “Sure. I‘m not your best friend. I‘m his evil clone.”**  
“And that kids is how you properly execute a sarcastic comment to an amnesiac.”  
Everyone turned to see Leo looking over a group of kids from camp.  
“Pay attention. I am the master. Soon you can make a sarcastic comment in any situation. And one day it might just save your life.”  
“How can it save your life?” snorted a Hunter.  
Leonora hissed but Leo just smiled. “Clearly you aren’t used to today's society. Sarcasm is as important as breathing.”  
 **“Leo Valdez!” Coach Hedge yelled from the front. “Problem back there?”**  
“No. My best friend has amnesia. We’re fine.”  
The kids had actually taken out notebooks and where writing it down.  
 **Leo winked at Jason. “Watch this.” He turned to the front. “Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?”**  
“Are you stupid!?!”  
“NOPE!”  
 **Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse.**  
“He is.”  
 **He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader‘s. The kids cracked up.**  
The kids cracked up.  
 **The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: “The cow says moo!”**  
“Gods.” muttered Nyssa as one of the younger kids talked to a Hermes kid.  
 **The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the megaphone. “Valdez!”**  
 **Piper stifled a laugh. “My god, Leo. How did you do that?”**  
“Does it matter how?” asked Leo, shocked.  
 **Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. “I‘m a special boy.”**  
Athena turned to Hephestus but Leonora smirked and said: “No spoilers.”  
“But-”  
“It might be obvious but NO SPOILERS!!!”  
 **“Guys, seriously,” Jason pleaded. “What am I doing here? Where are we going?”**  
“Well, although we didn’t now at the time, we were going on the greatest field trip of all time.”  
Piper knit her eyebrows. “Jason, are you joking?”  
 **“No! I have no idea—”**  
“What, that you are the storm in a certain prophecy?”  
“Wha?”  
“Leo,” said Calypso. “They haven’t had that prophecy yet.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, that was after Rachel.”  
 **“Aw, yeah, he‘s joking,”**  
“I was so young and naive back then.”  
 **Leo said. “He‘s trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing,**  
 **aren‘t you?”**  
“I wish.”  
 **Jason stared at him blankly.**  
 **“No, I think he‘s serious.”**  
“Trust a woman to-” Artemis started, but than she looked at Leonora an shut up  
 **Piper tried to take his hand again, but he pulled it away.**  
 **“I‘m sorry,” he said. “I don‘t—I can‘t—”**  
 **“That‘s it!‖ Coach Hedge yelled from the front. ―The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!”**  
“Wait! We had Lunch that day!!!”  
 **The rest of the kids cheered.**  
 **“There‘s a shocker,” Leo muttered.**  
 **But Piper kept her eyes on Jason, like she couldn‘t decide whether to be hurt or worried. “Did you hit your head or something? You really don‘t know who we are?”**  
 **Jason shrugged helplessly. “It‘s worse than that. I don‘t know who I am.”**  
“You also don’t know the girl diligently looking for you.”  
 **The bus dropped them in front of a big red stucco complex like a museum, just sitting in the middle of nowhere.**  
 **Maybe that‘s what it was: the National Museum of Nowhere, Jason thought. A cold wind blew across the desert. Jason hadn‘t paid much attention to what he was wearing, but it wasn‘t nearly warm enough: jeans and sneakers, a purple T-shirt, and a thin black windbreaker.**  
Reyna let out a sob this time and to their surprise she quickly wiped it up and made herself normal.  
Athena on the other hand scowled.  
 **“So, a crash course for the amnesiac,” Leo said, in a helpful tone that made Jason think this was not going to be helpful. “We go to the ‘Wilderness School’” Leo made air quotes with his fingers. “Which means we‘re ‘bad kids.’ Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison—sorry, ‘boarding school’—in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti**  
Reyna perked up at this. “Sounds fun!”  
 **and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we go on**  
 **‘educational’ field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?”**  
 **“No.” Jason glanced apprehensively at the other kids: maybe twenty guys, half that many girls. None of them looked like hardened criminals, but he wondered what they‘d all done to get sentenced to a school for delinquents, and he wondered why he belonged with them.**  
“You did nothing except exist and Hera was like: ‘Oh yes, this will work fine. Absolutely nothing bad will happen.’”  
Everyone looked at him.  
“Spoilers!” sang Calypso.  
 **Leo rolled his eyes. “You‘re really gonna play this out, huh? Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. We‘re totally tight. You do everything I say and give me your dessert and do my chores—”**  
 **“Leo!” Piper snapped.**  
 **“Fine. Ignore that last part. But we are friends.**  
“With friends like that, who needs enemies.”  
“You’d be surprised.”  
 **Well, Piper‘s a little more than your friend, the last few weeks—”**  
Reyna cried again but this time sobs were still racking her body as she composed herself. Annabeth leaned over and hugged her.  
“What’s wrong Reyna?”  
“He-he-he.”  
“Shhh. You’ll find someone. You’re amazing.”  
Leonora smiled and walked over. She nodded at Annabeth and dragged over Reyna, hugging her and muttering something to her. Leo smiled at the two and motioned for Thalia to continue.  
 **“Leo, stop it!” Piper‘s face turned red. Jason could feel his face burning too. He thought he‘d remember if he‘d been going out with a girl like Piper.**  
This made Reyna mad and she pushed off Leonora, got up and started pacing.  
 **“He‘s got amnesia or something,” Piper said. “We‘ve got to tell somebody.”**  
 **Leo scoffed. “Who, Coach Hedge? He‘d try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head.”**  
 **The coach was at the front of the group, barking orders and blowing his whistle to keep the kids in line; but every so often he‘d glance back at Jason and scowl.**  
 **“Leo, Jason needs help,” Piper insisted. “He‘s got a concussion or—”**  
 **“Yo, Piper.” One of the other guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Jason and Piper and knocked Leo down. “Don‘t talk to these bottom-feeders. You‘re my partner, remember?”**  
Reyna started smiling softly, but hissed at the same time.  
 **The new guy had dark hair cut Superman style, a deep tan, and teeth so white they should‘ve come with a warning label: do not stare directly at teeth. permanent blindness may occur.**  
“I hate Dylan!”  
 **He wore a Dallas Cowboys jersey, Western jeans and boots, and he smiled like he was God‘s gift to juvenile delinquent girls everywhere. Jason hated him instantly.**  
Reyna started to smile wider. “That’s my Jay.” she muttered.  
Annabeth looked at her.  
 **“Go away, Dylan,” Piper grumbled. “I didn‘t ask to work with you.”**  
 **“Ah, that‘s no way to be. This is your lucky day!” Dylan hooked his arm through hers and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper shot one last look over her shoulder like, 911.**  
 **Leo got up and brushed himself off. “I hate that guy.” He offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. “‘I‘m Dylan. I‘m so cool, I want to date myself, but I can‘t figure out how! You want to date me instead? You‘re so lucky!’”**  
 **“Leo,” Jason said, “you‘re weird.”**  
 **“Yeah, you tell me that a lot.” Leo grinned. “But if you don‘t remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!”**  
 **Jason figured that if this was his best friend, his life must be pretty messed up;**  
“It is.” said Leo and Reyna in unison.  
 **but he followed Leo into the museum.**  
 **They walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like “The pig says oink.”**  
Several younger kids dissolved in laughter.  
 **Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together, like he had to keep his hands busy at all times.**  
 **Jason was too distracted to pay much attention to the exhibits, but they were about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe, which owned the museum.**  
 **Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Jason figured these girls were the popular clique. They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party.**  
 **One of them said, “Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?”**  
Reyna started hissing in fury. “Popular girl cliques are just an excuse to be mean.”  
 **The other girls laughed. Even Piper‘s so-called partner Dylan suppressed a smile. Piper‘s snowboarding jacket sleeves hid her hands, but Jason got the feeling she was clenching her fists.**  
 **“My dad‘s Cherokee,” she said. “Not Hualapai. ‘Course, you‘d need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel.”**  
 **Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction.**  
Athena gasped. “He dare insult an owl like that!”  
“She looked like an owl. He said it as it was. Stop being a bitch.”  
Athena growled but Leonora held up her finger.  
 **“Oh, sorry! Was your mom in this tribe? Oh, that‘s right. You never knew your mom.”**  
Reyna lunged forward. “I may not like her but tell me her adress so I can murder her!”  
“STOP! No murder.”  
 **Piper charged her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedge barked, “Enough back there! Set a good example or I‘ll break out my baseball bat!”**  
 **The group shuffled on to the next exhibit, but the girls kept calling out little comments to Piper.**  
 **“Good to be back on the rez?” one asked in a sweet voice.**  
 **“Dad‘s probably too drunk to work,” another said with fake sympathy. “That‘s why she turned klepto.”**  
Reyna roared and lunged forward.Than Leonora grabbed her shirt.  
 **Piper ignored them, but Jason was ready to punch them himself. He might not remember Piper, or even who he was, but he knew he hated mean kids.**  
 **Leo caught his arm. “Be cool. Piper doesn‘t like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they‘d be all bowing down to her and screaming, ‘We‘re not worthy!’”**  
 **“Why? What about her dad?”**  
 **Leo laughed in disbelief. “You‘re not kidding? You really don‘t remember that your girlfriend‘s dad—”**  
“That’s what convinced you?”  
“You’ll get it. Even Jason couldn’t keep it up. We once said that and he nodded and went along.”  
 **“Look, I wish I did, but I don‘t even remember her, much less her dad.”**  
 **Leo whistled. “Whatever. We have to talk when we get back to the dorm.”**  
“Little did we know…”  
 **They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace.**  
 **“All right, cupcakes,” Coach Hedge announced. “You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it.**  
“No promises.”  
 **The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork.”**  
“Dylan pushed off me and Piper.”  
 **The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it.**  
Thalia shuddered.  
“Scardy cat.” sang Nico under his breath.  
Thalia turned to him. “You are dead Death boy.” She lunged forward and she pulled out her bow. But Nico just lacthed his hand one her wrist and slammed her into the floor, switly incapitating her.  
“Am I?”  
 **“Man,” Leo said. “That‘s pretty wicked.”**  
 **Jason had to agree. Despite his amnesia and his feeling that he didn‘t belong there, he couldn‘t help being impressed. The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they‘d been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as Jason could see in any direction, red and gray ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god had taken a knife to it.**  
 **Jason got a piercing pain behind his eyes. Crazy gods ... Where had he come up with that idea?**  
Reyna smiled.  
Leo smirked and pointed to Leonora.  
“Hey Leonora.”  
“Hey.”  
“We once talked about that before. He was remembering a convorsation we had.”  
 **He felt like he‘d gotten close to something important—something he should know about. He also got the unmistakable feeling he was in danger.**  
“That’s because you are.” murmured Reyna  
 **“You all right?” Leo asked. “You‘re not going to throw up over the side, are you? ‘Cause I should‘ve brought my camera.”**  
 **Jason grabbed the railing. He was shivering and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with heights. He blinked, and the pain behind his eyes subsided.**  
 **“I‘m fine,” he managed. “Just a headache.”**  
Nico(p) frowned. “Just?”  
Suddenly, Leonora looked up. “Mum, Dad, can I stay at Reyna’s lace tonight?”  
“Sure.”  
 **Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked him sideways.**  
 **“This can‘t be safe.” Leo squinted at the clouds. “Storm‘s right over us, but it‘s clear all the way around. Weird, huh?”**  
 **Jason looked up and saw Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear. Jason had a bad feeling about that.**  
Reyna frowned. Than she looked up. “Venti.” she muttered to Leonora  
“Yup.”  
 **“All right, cupcakes!” Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. “We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!”**  
 **The storm rumbled, and Jason‘s head began to hurt again. Not knowing why he did it, he reached into his jeans pocket and brought out a coin—a circle of gold the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven.**  
Reyna smiled. “I remember that one.”  
 **Stamped on one side was a picture of a battle-ax. On the other was some guy‘s face wreathed in laurels. The inscription said something like ivlivs.**  
 **“Dang, is that gold?”**  
“Imperial!” said Reyna proudly.  
 **Leo asked. “You been holding out on me!”**  
 **Jason put the coin away, wondering how he‘d come to have it, and why he had the feeling he was going to need it soon.**  
 **“It‘s nothing,” he said. “Just a coin.”**  
 **Leo shrugged. Maybe his mind had to keep moving as much as his hands. “Come on,” he said. “Dare you to spit over the edge.”**  
 **They didn‘t try very hard on the worksheet. For one thing, Jason was too distracted by the storm and his own mixed-up feelings. For another thing, he didn‘t have any idea how to “name three sedimentary strata you observe” or “describe two examples of erosion.”**  
 **Leo was no help. He was too busy building a helicopter out of pipe cleaners.**  
 **“Check it out.” He launched the copter. Jason figured it would plummet, but the pipe-cleaner blades actually spun. The little copter made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiraled into the void.**  
 **“How‘d you do that?” Jason asked.**  
 **Leo shrugged. “Would‘ve been cooler if I had some rubber bands.”**  
 **“Seriously,” Jason said, “are we friends?”**  
 **“Last I checked.”**  
 **“You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?”**  
 **“It was …” Leo frowned. “I don‘t recall exactly. I‘m ADHD, man. You can‘t expect me to remember details.”**  
 **“But I don‘t remember you at all. I don‘t remember anyone here. What if—”**  
 **“You‘re right and everyone else is wrong?” Leo asked. “You think you just appeared here this morning, and we‘ve all got fake memories of you?”**  
Calypso clapped dramatically. “Give this man a prize!”  
Leo stood up and mock bowed. “Thank you, thank you.”  
 **A little voice in Jason‘s head said That’s exactly what I think.**  
 **But it sounded crazy. Everybody here took him for granted. Everyone acted like he was a normal part of the class—except for Coach Hedge.**  
 **“Take the worksheet.” Jason handed Leo the paper. “I‘ll be right back.”**  
 **Before Leo could protest, Jason headed across the skywalk.**  
 **Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather had scared them off. The Wilderness School kids had spread out in pairs across the skywalk.**  
 **Most were joking around or talking. Some of the guys were dropping pennies over the side. About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. She kept pushing him away, and when she saw Jason she gave him a look like, Throttle this guy for me.**  
“With pleasure.” said Nico.  
Everyone jumped. They had forgotten the older guy was there  
 **Jason motioned for her to hang on. He walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds.**  
 **“Did you do this?” the coach asked him.**  
 **Jason took a step back. “Do what?” It sounded like the coach had just asked if he‘d made the thunderstorm.**  
 **Coach Hedge glared at him, his beady little eyes glinting under the brim of his cap. “Don‘t play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?”**  
 **“You mean...you don’t know me?” Jason said. “I‘m not one of your students?”**  
“Oh Tartarus no!”  
Nico shuddered  
 **Hedge snorted.”Never seen you before today.”**  
 **Jason was so relieved he almost wanted to cry. At least he wasn‘t going insane. He was in the wrong place. “Look, sir, I don‘t know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I‘m not supposed to be here.”**  
 **“Got that right.” Hedge‘s gruff voice dropped to a murmur like he was sharing a secret. “You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can‘t fool me. I‘ve been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don‘t smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So—who are you, and where‘d you come from?”**  
 **Most of what the coach said didn‘t make sense, but Jason decided to answer honestly. “I don‘t know who I am. I don‘t have any memories. You‘ve got to help me.‖**  
 **Coach Hedge studied his face like was trying to read Jason‘s thoughts.**  
 **“Great,” Hedge muttered. “You‘re being truthful.”**  
 **“Of course I am! And what was all that about monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?”**  
“I wish,” said Percy with a laugh.  
 **Hedge narrowed his eyes. Part of Jason wondered if the guy was just nuts. But the other part knew better.**  
 **“Look, kid,” Hedge said, “I don‘t know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that it?”**  
“No and Yup.”  
 **“What are you talking about?”**  
 **Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk.**  
 **“This morning,” Hedge said, “I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way. They‘re coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn‘t give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I‘m watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they‘re being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that‘s why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop up out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?”**  
 **The pain behind Jason‘s eyes got worse than ever. Half-bloods. Camp. Monsters. He still didn‘t know what Hedge was talking about, but the words gave him a massive brain freeze—like his mind was trying to access information that should‘ve been there but wasn‘t.**  
 **He stumbled, and Coach Hedge caught him. For a short guy, the coach had hands like steel. “Whoa, there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I‘ll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We‘ll let the director figure things out.”**  
 **“What director?” Jason said. “What camp?”**  
 **“Just sit tight. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully, nothing happens before—”**  
“No. called Leo. You’ll jinx it!”  
 **Lightning crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.**  
 **“I had to say something,” Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone: “Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!”**  
 **“I thought you said this thing was stable!” Jason shouted over the wind.**  
 **“Under normal circumstances,” Hedge agreed, “which these aren‘t. Come on!”**  
Thalia put down the book. “Holy Hell.”  
“Hey, Mom?”  
“Yes, Leonora?”  
“Can you teleport Hazel Levesque to right outside this room?”  
“Sure.”  
Leonora walked through the door and came out 5 minutes later with Hazel. She pulled something out and moved aside her hair, before frowning and phasing some things to her neck and plugging something in. Then they re-entered.


End file.
